In the words of The Bard …

Borrowing from the Bard is a long-standing tradition in political cartooning. From Hamlet and Yorick, a mad Lear, Puck from Midsummer’s Night Dream — Shakespeare’s characters easily lend themselves to political parody.

A cartoonist I admire once told me that, in his opinion, readers no longer appreciate or even understand such classical references. Maybe he’s right. Perhaps gags and conceits based on Charlie Sheen, Lady Gaga or Oprah Winfrey are better at getting the attention of the media-saturated public mind.

In any event, here’s a take off from Hamlet’s rumination on mortality.